


Roses are red, Violets are purple

by itskira (celestialhan)



Category: Kpop - Fandom, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Botany, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Language of Flowers, M/M, Plants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 04:26:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14300760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialhan/pseuds/itskira
Summary: Botanist Jungwoo doesn't trust Yukhei with his plants





	Roses are red, Violets are purple

**Author's Note:**

> lol I suck at writing nowadays but I tried
> 
> Also this turned out longer than i thought 
> 
> Find me on twitter @celestialhan to see if I'm writing anything new

"But you promised that you would come plant shopping with me!" Kun couldn't stop the whine from escaping his lips when Yukhei had refused to go out with him – a promise was a promise after all. "You wouldn't break a promise, now, would you?" 

Yukhei groaned when he heard that question, knowing that Kun was just trying to guilt trip him but, damnit, it worked every time. "Fine! I'll come plant shopping with you," he could already feel the bitter taste of regret in his mouth while he grabbed his jacket and shrugged it on. Kun, on the other hand, was beaming as he grabbed his car keys. It was always the same routine between the two roommates and Yukhei sometimes wondered why they still felt the need to argue when it came to matters like that knowing full well what the outcome would be. But it still felt good to go through their familiar routine even if it did sometimes leave him with a little regret. "Why do you even need to go plant shopping? We live in an apartment." 

"Our apartment is boring and you know how much I love plants. I think we could do with some plants to liven up the space," Kun explained as they got into the car and buckled their seatbelts. It made sense for Kun to want some plants – he always had a green thumb back when they were living in China. Yukhei, on the other hand, did not have the patience for plants or the sense of routine needed when looking after plants. Any plant he had ever had had died within a few weeks and everyone said he was cursed when it came to plants, one touch from him and the plant would die. Of course, that wasn't true he was just very bad at watering the plants when needed or he would grossly over water a plant (Kun had nearly had a heart attack when he caught Yukhei watering his beloved peonies one spring day). 

"A few plants would be nice. It'd remind me of your little garden back home," Yukhei smiled fondly as he looked out the window, watching the buildings blur by as they passed them. Kun chuckled, remembering how he had screamed the neighborhood down when he caught Yukhei watering his peonies. 

"You better not try to water any of the plants. You're terrible at watering plants." 

"Hey! I'd like to think I improved over the years!" Yukhei protested but Kun was shaking his head, laughing. 

"Suuureee. And I've suddenly learned to tap dance. Just admit that you suck at taking care of plants." 

"Never! I managed to keep that cactus alive for a while, remember that?" 

"Yeah, I remember it because I was the one who watered it that miniscule amount of water it needed when you didn't!" 

Yukhei paused for a second, thinking about the cactus. Then a look of realisation. Kun had been watering that cactus whenever it needed it. All Yukhei really did was talk to it but, in his defense, he had read that talking to plants helped them grow. It probably didn't help the plant but it was really the thought that counted though, right? He really did spend a lot of his time talking to the plants Kun grew and he liked to think he helped them grow. But, after all, talking to plants to help them grow wasn't an exact science. 

"Okay, I am not the best at looking after plants. It doesn't matter though because you'll be looking after them," Kun hummed in agreement, satisfied with knowing he wouldn't catch Yukhei trying to water his plants again. Yukhei stared outside the car window watching as the high rise building slowly blurred into a traditional, scenic Korean village. Yukhei remembered from his studies that they're called Hanok as he climbs out the car and that they are old, some even surviving from the Joseon dynasty. Walking through the streets of the village, he could feel the history beneath his feet and around him. It was a far cry from the city that he was so used to - it was refreshing. 

"Why are we here? Are we going to experience some Korean culture as well as plant shopping?" Yukhei questioned, not understanding why they would be in such a traditional neighborhood. Kun shook his head. 

"No, there's a plant nursery that's on the very edge of this neighborhood and that's why we're walking through it. To get to the plant nursery. I could have driven but I thought a walk would be nicer considering the weather but I know I'll regret saying that later when we have to carry the plants back to the car," Kun said as he climbed out of the car. Yukhei looked up at the sky noting that it was a fairly warm day, a stark difference from the cold Korean winter he had just experienced. 

"Why are we going to this plant nursery? I'm sure there are places in the city that sell plants," Yukhei was curious, just why was he dragged all the way out of the city? Not that he was complaining. He ran his hands along the wall, not minding the rough feeling against his palm. He was in love with the place and he hadn't even been there long. 

"I just read an interesting review about this place online," Kun looked over at Yukhei who raised an eyebrow at his reply. He was intrigued – how interesting could this review be that it managed to convince Kun to drive all the way out of the city? He opened his mouth to ask what the review had said only to be cut off before he could even start talking. "Okay, when we get there I have two rules. One, don't say anything about the name of the nursery." 

"Why? What's the name of the nursery?" Yukhei decided to take a page from Kun's book and cut him off before he got to get out the rest of his words. Kun side eyed him, clearly not happy he had cut him off. 

"You'll see when we get there. Just don't say anything about it. Two, don't touch the plants. Please. They are the result of someone's hard work and I know you like to pull the leaves and petals off of pretty plants, god knows you've done it to my plants before." 

"Okay mum," Yukhei sarcastically saluted as they walked. Kun gave him a glare, choosing to walk a little faster so he was ahead of Yukhei. Yukhei jogged to catch up - who knew Kun could walk so fast? - and when he did Kun had stopped walking. Yukhei looked at the building they had stopped in front of. It was different from the rest of the village, definitely not from the Joseon period. It was small at first glance but it was magnificent. From the front it looked like a florist's shop, at least in Yukhei's opinion, but he could see that behind the front of the store stretched a greenhouse that was filled with greenery. Hanging above the exterior of the nursery was a sign holding the words 'The Birds 'n' the Bees plant nursery' and it is important to note that 'plant nursery' is written in small letters. 

"Is that in reference to...?" Yukhei trailed off, still staring at the sign. They certainly couldn't have used a euphemism as a name for the plant nursery. There was no way – the idea was just too absurd. Kun looked at him still staring at the sign. 

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to say anything about the name? Frankly I don't really want to know why they named it that. Or if it was used purposely. I'd rather not think or talk about it. Now let's go in," Kun gestured with a nod before walking into the store, leaving Yukhei to continue staring at the sign. He took out his phone and took a photo of the sign. He wanted to later look at it and laugh because he couldn't now, not when he could see someone who worked there staring at him through the window of the shop. Shaking his head, he shoved his phone into his pocket and walked in. 

When he walked in he could see Kun was already fawning over plants and they weren't even in the greenhouse yet. He was talking to the employee who had been staring at him staring at the sign and gesturing heavily to the family of cacti. The employee was laughing at whatever Kun was saying and Yukhei desperately hoped it wasn't the story of how he had managed to kill a cactus. Unfortunately, it was worse than that because not only had Kun told the story of how he managed to kill a cactus he had also told the story of how he overwatered plants and the story of how he had once planted strawberry seeds that never made it to their seedling years because he had forgotten they needed to be watered - how had he managed to tell all three stories so quickly? It was safe to say he was going to be the laughing stock of the plant nursery because the employee had run off to tell his colleagues when Kun had decided he needed to get some actual shopping done. 

"That was a nice employee," Kun sighed in content as he walked into the greenhouse. 

"Did you get his name?" 

"Yeah, it was Dongyoung. Why are you asking?" Kun was searching through some saplings for an unknown reason – you couldn't grow a tree in a Seoul apartment. 

"Oh no reason. I'm just going to report him for making me the laughing stock of this plant nursery," He exclaimed, his voice raising a little higher so he could be heard over the sound of water gushing – there must have been a water feature in the greenhouse. Kun stopped feeling the leaves of the saplings and gave him an incredulous look. 

"Oh, come on. Don't be dramatic. He did nothing wrong!" 

"You know, you're right. He did nothing wrong. I should be disowning you as a best friend for telling some random stranger stories that could embarrass me," He pointed accusingly at Kun who just turned and walked from the apple tree saplings to the lemon tree saplings. 

"They weren't embarrassing stories," Kun hummed and Yukhei threw his hands up in the air. 

"Under normal circumstances they aren't. But we're in a plant nursery with people who obviously love plants and are going to find my woes funny. Are you even listening to me?" Kun was once again feeling the leaves of the sapling and Yukhei sighed. He was clearly not listening. "Right, so while you shop for plants I'm going to go find a nice plant to destroy and I also might murder that employee," Yukhei hoped that statement would shake Kun out of his own thoughts but Kun just hummed in agreement and dismissed Yukhei with a wave of his hand. Yukhei sighed and decided he would go explore the greenhouse which was huge, covered with plants and seemed very fun to explore. At least that's what he assumed since he couldn't actually see most of the greenhouse. The greenhouse was arranged in such a way that the plants created a walkway to follow. He wasn't sure how the employees managed to arrange it that way but it was a pretty way of arranging it. As he walked, on one side there was a tall rack of red flowers that seemed to spill out of their respective pots as they grew which created a wall of red flowers and on the other side there were just green, tree like plants that stood tall. He felt the leaves of the plant, wondering if he could feel whatever Kun always felt for but he had no idea what he was feeling for - it was just a leaf. 

Walking through the nursery was calming especially with the water feature that he found in what he assumed was the middle of the greenhouse but he could have been totally wrong. On his travels through the greenhouse he crossed paths with a few employees who smiled at him but had weird looks on their faces. It wasn't until he got to the end of greenhouse that he realised they probably all knew him as the guy who killed plants thanks to Kun's big mouth and that employee Dongyoung who also seemed to have a big mouth. Yukhei didn't know what to do once he reached the end of the walkway. It had led him to an open door that said employees only and so he assumed he would have to walk back the way he came but there was something intriguing behind the employees only door. There was no harm in just sticking his head around the door, right? That surely couldn't count as trespassing. 

So Yukhei stuck his head around the door, curious to see the test tubes he had caught sight of earlier when he looked in. He was surprised to discover another – much smaller – greenhouse, although it reminded him of a conservatory rather than a greenhouse. There were blinds on each glass wall that remained open, letting the beautiful rays of the sun in. In the middle of the greenhouse was a large wooden work bench, to the side was a cupboard, on the other side another smaller work desk and at the back of the greenhouse was a random sofa. The top of the work bench was a mess with papers, scientific equipment and those test tubes strewn across it. The smaller work desk was no better with papers and pens everywhere. The test tubes were, interestingly, filled with individual seedlings. Yukhei couldn't understand what this greenhouse was for. He knew that the employees here planted all the plants here themselves but he had seen a cordoned off section in the main greenhouse - that he may have walked into – where they planted and grew the plants. So just what were they doing with these seedlings. A thousand ideas were running through his head – maybe this was a secret base where they mutated plants so that harmless plants became poisonous? Granted they weren't the best ideas. 

Overcome with burning curiosity he decided to walk in. No one was there anyway and he hoped no employees would walk in on him snooping around. He closed the door behind him as some sort of security before walking – or rather tiptoeing – over to the work bench. There was a microscope left there with a deep petri dish filled with soil sat under the lenses. There was something lying in the soil and Yukhei knew he had to look to see what it was. Looking through the microscope lens he was disappointed to find it was just a seed – why were they looking at a seed? Yukhei hoped the papers on the work bench would be more helpful so he looked through them but they all seemed to be written in some sort of code or at least in language he didn't understand. One thing he could gather from looking through the papers on the work bench and the desk was that it was something scientific, meaning it wasn't something he would be understanding soon. He was ready to leave having looked through everything that interested him when he though to look at those test tubes that had first caught his eye. Yukhei bent down so that he was squatting with his arms leaning against the work bench so he was eye level with the test tubes. It was clear as day that those were seedlings – he knew that much from Kun's lessons in gardening. Just normal seedlings he confirmed (although he didn't have much knowledge of abnormal seedlings) but in test tubes – how odd. 

"You aren’t allowed back here." A voice called out from behind him and Yukhei jumped up, shocked. He desperately hoped he had imagined the voice, even though holding onto that hope was futile, but clearly the universe was not on his side today. "What are you doing with my seedlings?" The strangers voice was fraught with worry which surprised Yukhei who expected the stranger to be slightly more volatile. Slowly, he turned around to face the stranger and his breath caught in his throat. The stranger had the softest features, almost as if his edges had been smoothed out to form a slightly hazy photo. For a second, the answer he had thought up disappeared and he couldn't think or speak too caught up in the stranger's appearance. As far as Yukhei could tell from the black and yellow striped polo shirt and the name tag, the stranger was an employee. "Hello? I asked you a question," The stranger snapped his fingers in front of Yukhei's dazed face, a hostile tone now starting to show. Yukhei gave a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling nervously – why were his palms so sweaty all of a sudden? 

"Uhh I was just looking around. I was just interested in the seedlings," That was not the answer he wanted to give at all. In fact, he wanted to apologise and book it but for some reason he decided to stay put. The stranger narrowed his eyes at him, unsure of whether to trust Yukhei or not because he was 110% sure that this was the guy his colleagues had told him about – the plant killer. 

"Step away from the seedlings. And keep your hands behind your back," The strangers eyes stayed narrowed as he slowly started to step closer to the work bench and Yukhei who, upon instruction, was moving away from the seedlings. Suddenly, the stranger ran to the seedlings as Yukhei brought his hands out from behind his back. The stranger cradled the seedlings as if they were his babies before glaring at Yukhei and moving the seedlings to the desk. When the stranger turned back around and stood by the work bench again Yukhei could read his name tag – Jungwoo. Jungwoo was still glaring at him and he assumed the story of how he was a plant killer had spread to him too. "Did you touch the seedlings?" 

"Uh what?" Yukhei was shocked at the question to say the least even though he should have seen it coming, especially if Jungwoo knew that he was some kind of plant killer (which technically he was but no one ever gets caught up with technicalities, right?). 

"I asked if you touched my seedlings. Clearly, you're cursed or something so I can't have you near my seedlings," Jungwoos voice was freakily possessive, in Yukhei's opinion (although no one asked), and those words were hurtful. He was not cursed, maybe a little clueless with plants but definitely not cursed. 

"Excuse you, I am not cursed! And, no, I didn't touch your precious seedlings. What's so 'special' about them anyway that they need to grow in test tubes?" Yukhei knew that his tone sounded like he wanted to pick a fight and that he should probably tone it down because a fight was the last thing he wanted but he couldn’t help it. That’s just how he became when he was on the defensive. Jungwoo narrowed his eyes even more – who did this overgrown child think he was? 

"I'll have you know that those seedlings are very special so you can tone down the sarcasm. This concept might be a little hard for your pea brain to process but they're genetically improved through plant breeding," Jungwoo spoke in an obnoxious tone, acting as if he were trying to explain something to a baby. In all fairness, Yukhei didn't know a single thing about plant breeding but Jungwoo didn't have to be such a dick about it. At first, Yukhei may have a small crush on the employee but this was taking it too far. 

"Just because I don't know anything about plant breeding doesn’t make you superior to me. Besides if you know so much about plant breeding why don’t you just educate me on it instead of belittling me like I'm a child!" If there was one thing Yukhei hated the most it would be people belittling him. That statement seemed to knock Jungwoo down a peg or two as a look of guilt crossed his face. Yukhei assumed he didn't really mean any harm, they had just gotten off on the wrong foot. Jungwoo sighed. 

"If you really want to know...," he walked over to his desk, picked up the seedlings and brought them over again. "These are strawberry seedlings. I wanted sweeter strawberries so I used plant breeding to make that happen," Jungwoo held the test tubes up a little so that Yukhei was eye level with them again. He reached out to pick up a test tube, dying to touch one of the seedlings, but before he could Jungwoo moved them away and hugged them close to his body again – clearly, he still didn't trust Yukhei with his plants. 

"How did you make them sweeter?" Yukhei settled for just an answer to his question considering he couldn't touch any of the plants. 

"I take the traits I desire from one plant and mix it with recipient plants to create the type of plant I want. In other words, I am a god to plants." Yukhei assumed that was a joke and chuckled which brought a smile to Jungwoo's face. He had a pretty smile – he totally was not getting flustered at just a smile but that smile was just so precious and warm and he was totally getting flustered. 

Ignoring his burning cheeks and sweaty palms, he couldn't help but ask, "You do that yourself?" From the look on Jungwoos face he could tell he didn't know how to react to that question. Yukhei's tone had been a little off, straying from admiration to just surprise. A frown settled on Jungwoo's face and Yukhei panicked. "Don't get me wrong. I'm just surprised you can do something so amazing! I mean not everyone can do what you do especially at such a young age!" Yukhei almost rambled, which was unlike him, but managed to catch himself and this time Yukhei didn't bother to hide the pure admiration in his voice. Jungwoo's frown turned into a smile and his heart almost exploded – how could one person be so damn cute? Yukhei's face lit up, happy he had made Jungwoo smile. Upon seeing Yukhei's smile, Jungwoo did something unexpected. 

"Would you like to see the ones that grew up?" It was a timid question, almost as if Jungwoo doubted Yukhei would say yes. But of course, he would say yes. Jungwoo, a complete stranger, was willing to show him something that was very important to him – it was the very thing that ignited passion in those beautiful brown eyes that Yukhei knew he could get lost in so he couldn't say no. Jungwoo suddenly grabbed his hand and dragged him to the corner of the greenhouse where three strawberry plants sat fully grown. Yukhei hadn't caught sight of them earlier as the cupboard blocked them from his view. They were big, red strawberries and it was safe to say that they looked like they would taste sweet. "These were my trial ones. I was focused on tomatoes for a long time so that was all I grew but spring came along and strawberries seemed fit. Do you want to taste them? I was actually going to pick them and wash them to share with my colleagues. But since you were so interested in my work you can taste them first," Yukhei could tell he could talk for hours on end about his plants and that such a proposal really meant something. The strawberries were a result of his hard work, he was so proud of them and he was willing to share that hard work with him. 

"I would love to taste your special strawberries, Jungwoo!" Yukhei spoke excitedly, any chance to share someone's passion was fun. Upon hearing his name, Jungwoo seemed shocked. He made a cute little 'o' with his mouth that made Yukhei want to squeeze his cheeks. 

"How did you know my name?" He asked, completely perplexed. Yukhei just pointed to his name tag and a look of realisation spread across his face followed by embarrassment for forgetting he had a name tag. This made Yukhei giggle and for a second Jungwoo thought the embarrassment was totally worth it since he got a chance to hear that giggle. "Well you know my name so it's only fair I get to know yours." This was a worthy trade in Yukhei's eyes. 

"Wong Yukhei," he replied and Jungwoo tilted his head at the name. It reminded Yukhei of a puppy and he couldn't help but fawn over the look when Jungwoo gave the cutest eye smile with it. 

"That's a cute name," Jungwoo's words made Yukhei a little bashful – no one had called his name cute before (okay they had but Jungwoo had never and that’s all that mattered). Jungwoo grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and sat cross legged in front of the strawberry plants. Yukhei followed suit and was prepared to pick a strawberry from one of the plants when Jungwoo slapped his hand away. 

"Hey! What was that for?" Yukhei nursed his hand as he looked accusingly at Jungwoo, who showed no sign of remorse. 

"Don't touch my plants. I don't care if you're cursed or not, I will not take any chances with my plants. I want these to produce more strawberries later on and I can't have you ruining that," Jungwoo's words were firm and final. Yukhei didn't want to argue back because he knew he'd never be allowed to touch the plants so he settled for watching Jungwoo pick the strawberries. It seemed like a careful process – first he inspected the strawberries, once he found one fit for picking he pulled the berry off with a slight, fluid twisting motion that seemed very practiced. Yukhei assumed that Jungwoo had learnt the best way to pick a strawberry without bruising them because they all came out looking perfect. "We need to wash them now so let's walk to the front of the store where the breakroom is," Jungwoo muttered as he dusted off his trousers with one hand. He seemed to be in a rush as he sped away to the door before Yukhei could even stand up straight. He ran after him managing to catch up with Jungwoo. 

"So, the owners let you do this plant breeding?" Yukhei asked, wondering if maybe this was all done under the radar. But Jungwoo just laughed at the question. 

"I mean, if he didn't I'd be pretty mad at him. Especially considering the fact that I own half this place," Yukhei looked at Jungwoo, bewildered. Jungwoo owned half of the plant nursery? "My best friend, although I question that title at times, owns the other half. I think you might know him. Dongyoung." Jungwoo laughs loudly, mirth bubbling in his stomach when he hears Yukhei say "Oh the big mouth!" 

"Yeah, the big mouth. That's my best friend for you," he sighs when he stops laughing. 

"Not like my best friend is any better. He was the one who told Dongyoung in the first place that I'm a plant killer because there's nothing like telling strangers about your best friend's mishaps. Sometimes I wonder why I still even call him my best friend because I am 110% sure best friends don’t- ohhhh. Hey Kun!" Yukhei stops his complaining when he reached the front of the store and runs into a very distressed looking Kun talking to Dongyoung. Both turn to look in the direction of Yukhei and Jungwoo before Kun walks over to Yukhei and punches him in the arm. 

"Where the hell have you been? One minute you were there when I was searching the saplings and the next you were gone. I literally searched every plant area you could have got lost or hidden in!" Kun was shouting but Yukhei didn't mind – it just showed how much his best friend cared. 

"Yeah I can tell you searched through plants," Yukhei chuckled as he pulled a leaf from Kun's hair and held it out to him. Kun just pushed his hand away, annoyed, and considered threatening Yukhei with a cactus. 

"Where have you been?!? I've been so stressed. Ask Dongyoung," Kun pointed to Dongyoung who was rearranging the family of cacti on the front desk. Yukhei looked at him puzzled but was distracted when he saw Jungwoo disappear off into a room that he assumed was the breakroom. 

"Well I walked around the greenhouse then I was with Jungwoo," Yukhei explained, looking over Kun towards the area of the breakroom. 

"Who?" It almost seemed as if Kun's patience lowered every second and Yukhei didn't waste any time explaining who Jungwoo was and what he had been up to. By the end of it Kun was no longer angry. 

"Well it couldn't hurt to look at your phone once in a while. I was panicking before," Kun shook his phone in Yukhei's face, trying to prove a point. Yukhei took his phone out of his pocket and saw a million texts and missed calls from Kun. He smiled sheepishly. 

"Sorry, I was distracted." 

"Yeah I can see why," Kun was giving him a smile that was beyond creepy and also wiggling his eyebrows at him. Oh god why did his best friend have to be such a dork? 

"Shut up Kun. He's coming back over," Yukhei pushed him, hoping that stupid grin on his face would go away but of course it didn’t. Yukhei watched nervously as Jungwoo approached him again. 

"But why? He's totally your type. I think you should ask him- why are you gesturing like that?" If there was an award for most oblivious best friend it would go to Kun – not only had he not noticed Jungwoo was behind them, he had also failed to recognise the look of pure panic on his best friend's face. Yukhei wanted to run far, far away from the situation he had just fallen into. He covered his embarrassed face with his hands, only moving his fingers a little to gauge Jungwoo's reaction. Jungwoo looked surprised and a pink blush had settled on his cheeks, adding to his overall uwu factor. 

"Oh my god. Kun this is why I used to pull apart your flowers. Also, I don't have a type!" Yukhei spoke through his hands, muffling his words so only Kun could decipher what he was saying. Kun was unimpressed. 

"Yeah keep telling yourself that," he muttered – he knew Yukhei had a type. 

"I'm...I'm your type?" Jungwoo's words were timid and quiet, so quiet Yukhei almost hadn't heard. He didn't know how to answer. 

"Uhhh...yeah, kinda, sorta, yeah," Yukhei stumbled over his words, wondering why it was suddenly so hard for him to speak. 

"Are you sure? Because you don't sound sure," Kun piped up. Yukhei had forgotten he was there. 

"Just go back to shopping for plants." Yukhei pushed him away, making sure his best friend wouldn't drop him in another embarrassing situation. Once Kun was gone Yukhei looked at Jungwoo, who looked like he was internally arguing with himself. Yukhei bit his lip anxiously – was Jungwoo ever going to say anything? He was beginning to worry that maybe the other didn't like him. He would just die of embarrassment if Jungwoo didn’t like him back. He wouldn't ever recover from that kind of den- 

"Would you like a plant?" Yukhei's thoughts were cut off. Of all the things he imagined Jungwoo saying to him 'would you like a plant' was not one of them. 

"Uhhh..." Yukhei didn’t know how to respond. He was confused – wasn't he known as the plant killer? "I mean I kill the plants I get so..." 

"No, I think you should get a plant." Jungwoo was adamant he should get a plant. He grabbed Yukhei's hand and dragged him into the greenhouse again. 

"Jungwoo I'm serious. I'm a plant killer. You heard the stories." They ended up stopping in front of racks filled with flower pots that held a variety of different flowers. Jungwoo looked through them carefully and picked out a small flower pot that held a plant that sprouted purple flowers. 

"These are African violets. They're easy to look after and are perfect as houseplants," Jungwoo tried to sell the idea to Yukhei but he was still hesitant about the idea. 

"You couldn't trust me to touch your plants. You thought I'd ruin them so why do you suddenly trust me with these flowers?" Yukhei frowned as he spoke but Jungwoo just tilted his head and sighed. 

"Let me tell you a secret about plants. Plants are very much like humans at times, they need care and attention. And I know you'll be able to give these African violets the care and attention they need because you'll have a very important reason to look after them," Jungwoo knew Yukhei had the potential to look after plants, he just needed to unlock it. 

"What will this important reason be?" It was a simple question but it held so much weight, it had the ability to unravel something new for the both of them. 

"I've never been good at speaking, especially about my feelings, and so I always let plants speak for me. If I hadn't become a botanist then I would have become a florist because flowers can tell stories if you know the right meanings behind certain plants. Do you know the meaning behind purple violets?" Yukhei shook his head. "Purple violets symbolise that the givers thoughts are filled with love. Back in the old days flowers were the language of love and so I'm giving you these African violets with the knowledge of what they mean and I hope you look after them." 

In terms of a confession, Yukhei was sure that this was the cutest and most special confession he had ever gotten. Down to the meaning and importance of the flowers and to the blushing face of Jungwoo who couldn’t meet his eyes all of a sudden. It was really a confession from the heart because Yukhei understood the importance plants held in Jungwoo's life – they weren't just his job they were also his passion – and so to be allowed to share that passion was special. Yukhei took the plant from Jungwoo's hands and smiled fondly. 

"I'll never let these flowers die." Those words were an unspoken promise between them - to keep the flowers blooming and to never let them die. 

(As Yukhei and Kun were walking out Yukhei turned to Jungwoo and Dongyoung, "Who thought 'The Birds 'n' the Bees plant nursery' was a good name for the store?" Jungwoo and Dongyoung looked at each other embarrassed. Yukhei wondered how many times people were brave enough to ask that question. 

"When we came up with the name we didn't know it was a euphemism for sex!" Both Jungwoo and Dongyoung's faces were red. Kun and Yukhei couldn't help but laugh. 

"Mhm sure you didn't know it was a euphemism," Kun teased, just to make their faces even redder and Yukhei chuckled at his best friend – where had his reluctance to talk about the name of the store gone? 

"We really didn't," Jungwoo jumped to defend them but when he saw their laughing faces he turned to Dongyoung and hit his arm. "This is your fault! If you hadn't suggested the name then people wouldn't laugh at the name of the store!" Dongyoung held his arm in pain and gave his best friend a hurt look. 

"You can't blame me! You approved the name so you hold just as much..." Kun and Yukhei left them to bicker between themselves, still giggling about the name.) 

(At a later date, Yukhei did ask about the review but Kun would never give it up. He had read countless reviews of the place online but never came across anything that stuck out to him. Yukhei was beginning to wonder whether the whole review excuse was just an excuse to have dragged Yukhei so far from the city.) 

(Yukhei did look after that plant well. He knew the right amount to water it and when it needed the sun. He gave it care and attention just like he promised he would. He managed to keep it blooming all year round.)

**Author's Note:**

> If it isn't obvious Yukhei looking after the plant is a sort of metaphor


End file.
